…where cocktail hour and the witching hour meet 🍸

Back, way back, way back in time, the ancient Aztecs used cacao seeds for spiritual and ceremonial purposes, as when sacrificial victims were given cacao drinks mixed with human blood in order to prepare them to have their heart cut out and held up, still beating, to the Sun. For thousands of years cacao was…

Midsummer bonfire Flowers of flame flare out bright Live on as embers As the Sun passes over the Tropic of Cancer and hangs directly overhead, we celebrate with flowers which represent the Earth’s energies, water to represent the water sign Cancer, and fire which represents the Sun. While the mystical hordes gather at Stonehenge…

If I could talk to the other side, just imagine it? Chatting with a haunt in words ghostly Imagine speaking to a shadow, discoursing with a daemon What a neat achievement it would be! If we could talk to the other side, learn all their languages I’d take a PHD in EVP I’d study poltergeist…

“Look at them, troll mother said. Look at my sons! You won’t find more beautiful trolls on this side of the moon.” – Traditional In these enlightened days of science and technology and that, most people associate trolls with spiteful and/or mischievous people who anonymously trouble online folk. Hiding under a bridge of secret identity,…

“We know that our forefathers very generally kept the beginning of May as a great festival, and it is still regarded as the trysting time of witches – i.e. once of wise-women and fays; who can doubt that heathen sacrifices blazed on that day?” – Jacob Grimm ‘Teutonic Mythology’ The ultimate Walpurgis Night party was…

Tír na nÓg are the islands of everlasting youth and beauty, not unlike Peter Pan’s fictional Neverland. Populated by gods and spirits who no longer have any connection to our world, it is possible for humans to visit, although returning is not usually easy due to the different way in which time passes there. The…

Top of the morning to you! For St Patrick’s Day this year, let’s locate a leprechaun. Before you start arguing that you only find leprechauns in Ireland, consider that there are more Irish natives living in New York City than there are in Ireland. Naturally leprechauns will have emigrated along with the people and their…

In the 8th century, the priestess of the Oracle at Delphi was named the Pythoness. During rituals she would enter a frenzied state induced by poisonous vapours rising from the ground and speak gibberish, which was translated by the temple priests into the prophecies of the god Apollo. Her hair coiling loose around her like…

If you’re looking for a different way to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day this year, why not indulge in a little light lycanthropy? The spirit of the wolf can help us all connect with our inner power and stamina. The festival of St Valentine took over from the previous Roman wolf-themed festival of Lupercalia, which had…

As humans, our track record of leaving things, people and places behind is very high. We do this for all kinds of reasons, often very good ones. And while change is healthy, and we must go ever onwards, it’s also tempting to look back from time to time. There are places I remember All my…

Blue Monday is more than just “the first 12”record I ever bought” for every single male of my generation without exception – it’s also the 3rd Monday in January, and is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year. Tell me how do I feel? Tell me now, how do I feel? –…